About

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Southwestern Black Bean Soup - It's a Cheerleading Competition Kinda Day!

It's been a busy week. I wish I had time during this last week to post a few recipes, but it was not meant to be. I think last night was the first night that I was home all week. I feel like I wake up in the morning and hit the ground running, barely having time to grab a cup of coffee before I have to head out the door. Kami's birthday was on Monday and she turned 14. I remember being pregnant with her - it feels like it was just the other day. It is hard to believe that God has blessed us so tremendously with her. For those of you who don't know her story, here are a few highlights:

In early June of 1996 I found out I was pregnant for the 3rd time. It was a bit of a surprise - ask David. he didn't want to even talk about it for almost 2 months. At the same time I had been experiencing some stomach pains. We went on a family vacation and while we were gone I had a horrible attack of abdominal pain. When we got home I went to the doctor. They did tests, blood work, ultra-sound... all showed nothing. He said it "sounded like" gallstones, but they saw nothing. He advised me to go on a fat-free diet and rest as much as possible. If it WAS gallstones, they wanted to wait until after I had the baby to do any kind of surgical procedure. On July 3 I was in the emergency room and headed for surgery. There were 15 stones in my gallbladder and I had already passed 13 that were lodged in my bile duct. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital at which time they thought I may be miscarrying... but that did not happen, thankfully.

I have horrible morning sickness issues. Both of my other pregnancies landed me either in the hospital (Ali) or sent me to an outpatient clinic a couple of times for IV fluids because of severe dehydration. This one was no different and I begged for fluids at home instead, which the doctor allowed. David learned how to change the fluid bags and a home health nurse came in frequently to help. I was pretty sick... it went on for about 8 weeks (nothing to eat or drink) and I developed a pseudo-cyst on my pancreas - think pancreatitis pain and throwing up all the time - so NOT fun! Back to the hospital I went. I had not eaten for 8 weeks, so needless to say my body was depleted of all nutrients. It took 2 weeks of a variety of fluids as well as 2 or 3 blood transfusions before they would even consider surgery... still pregnant and about to hit my 2nd trimester. I spent another month in the hospital after the surgery before I begged to go home. They did. The doctors said that because of all the radiation I had, the baby would have developmental delays, possible learning disabilities, etc. What do they know?? :) Kami was born 4 weeks early, walked at 7 1/2 months, is brilliant, an incredibly talented cheerleader/tumbler and so full of energy and spunk, you would never know she had gone through so much before she breathed her first breath. Thank you God for blessing us so richly!!

So... today we are off to the World Spirit Association's competition at David Lipscomb University. Kami's squad is competing for the 5th time this year. Please let them win it!! Soup will be waiting in the crockpot when we get home! YUM!

BLACK BEAN SOUP

1 lb. dry black beans, soaked over night
1 med. onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. diced carrots
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 can whole kernel corn
5-6 cups chicken broth (homemade from the freezer!)
1 t. cumin
1 T. chili powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper

Soak the beans overnight or bring to a boil, boil 2 min. then turn off heat, cover and let sit for an hour. Add to crockpot with all remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Enjoy :)

That was quick, but yet again, I have to hit the ground running! If I had celery, I would have put that in too. Until next time, stay warm and loved, my friends!

Go STARS!!

No comments:

Post a Comment